Something in Josh's voice stilled Drake's blood. "Oh no. What happened?"

"We still can't find him." Josh's upset spilled over into his words. Drake could practically see the worried look on his brother's face through the phone. "He broke into a bus or something. I don't know. I just don't get it, Drake. Why- why won't Dad come home?"

"Hey, it's gonna be okay, man. We're gonna find him. I promise." The rest of Drake's burger sat there on his plate, untouched. He swallowed his last bite, his appetite gone. "Where was he last spotted?"

"Megan said she saw him behind a taco place. She wanted to convince him to come home, but as soon as he saw her, he bolted."

"Megan!" Drake huffed. "She should have been more careful."

"We gotta find him, Drake. I need to know my dad's okay."

"We will, Josh. Listen, this tour wraps up in a week-ish. As soon as it's done, I'll put everything I have into finding Dad."

"Okay. Thanks."

X

The last show sold out a venue in Seattle. Rain poured from the sky, creating a rather nice ambiance. It echoed through the theater, giving the concert a cozy feel. Blake Carter's set rocked the house, warming it up perfectly for Drake. He arrived on stage with his usual flare, and a killer new tune. He played a couple covers that night as well, but kept to his usual hits like "Makes Me Happy" and "Hollywood Girl." Anyone who recognized him loved those songs. They had been the first two singles off of his album. As he played, Drake found himself missing more and more the days his music career had been more successful. The musician knew he'd never give up trying to make it work, but he was starting to worry it never would. Blake had been offered a recording deal by a pretty famous label. Drake had gone unnoticed. He tried not to think about it, instead pouring himself into his performances and the ongoing search for Walter. As soon as his dad was back, he'd find a way to get himself back on top. Somehow.

The show went better than expected. Cheers from the crowd kept Drake playing well into the night. His table sold out of merchandise. Each T-shirt and album copy found a home with an audience member, or sold as gifts for friends. Drake was ecstatic. A show hadn't gone this well for him in ages.

"Great night tonight, man!" Blake clapped a hand on Drake's back once he was backstage after his own set. "They really ate us up. We killed it!"

"Yeah!" Drake grinned. "It felt amazing. This really was our best yet."

Blake held up his hand for a high five, and Drake obliged. "We've got to play together again sometime, dude." His too-perfect smile flashed. "Maybe you can open for me on my first headlining tour!"

"Thanks!" Drake's smile turned from free to forced. "Maybe!"

Noel slid up against him, kissing his cheek as she looped an arm around his waist. "You were awesome, babe." She murmured. "Want to go get some food with me?"

Hungry as he was, Drake shook his head. "I can't. I have to go take care of a couple things. You go on ahead, okay? I think I'm just going to order room service."

"You sure? There's a great Chinese place, just around the corner."

"Yeah. Go have fun." He left a light kiss on her lips. "Eat an extra fortune cookie for me."

"Okay," she grinned. "Blake, you want to come? I could use the company." The three had gotten to be good friends after the tour. After spending so much time together, it was only inevitable. Finding Walter had kept Drake busy a few extra nights, so Blake and Noel had gotten used to going out without him, occasionally. The two had casually struck up a good friendship of their own.

"Definitely. I'm starving."

"Have fun, guys." Drake's smile was once again genuine. He watched them go before retreating back to his hotel room. Darting through raindrops, he managed to hail the first taxi he saw. Traffic was a pain, but he made it back rather quickly.

Back in his room, he pulled out his acoustic guitar to unwind. The familiar strings felt good beneath his fingers. He plucked a few notes, considering his options and planning his next move in the search for Walter. In the end, he pulled out his phone, checked his hair, and hit record.

"Hey guys. Listen, my dad Walter is still missing. You know him as a San Diego weatherman. If you know anything, or have seen anything, please contact me, or my brother, Josh. Any information helps. Please. We miss our dad, and we'd like to have him back home, safe."

Drake sighed as he cut off the video. It felt so pointless, so fruitless, posting things online. Who knew if it would even work? But, it was all he had.

He uploaded the video before returning to his guitar. The notes became a song, and lyrics spilled out from his lips. Old lyrics, to a song he had written long ago. He hadn't thought about it in ages. It felt good to play it, to rid his mind of the cobwebs that had cluttered it for the past few days. Like stretching, it brought relaxation and new strength to him. Out came the phone once again, as he dialed Noel's number.

She answered on the third ring, a musical laugh in her voice. "Hi, Drake!"

"You guys still at dinner?"

"Dessert, now. We're getting ice cream. You coming out?"

"Definitely. I'll be there in ten."

"You don't even know where we are, silly," Noel teased. Her voice sounded so light and good. Drake wished it were just the two of them out in Seattle, spending the weekend together without interruptions.

"Oh, yeah."

"Tasty Sprinkles. It's about fifteen minutes from the hotel. See you in fifteen?"

"See you in fifteen."

X

Drake was greeted with a warm hello from his girlfriend and friend as he walked into the ice cream parlor. Rain still fell in sheets from the dark sky, and it was oddly chilly for that time of year, but even as he pulled his damp jacket more snuggly around his body, he felt it was a good night for ice cream.

"I didn't think places like this existed anymore." Drake said as he settled into the seat between Noel and Blake. They perfectly filled out the small round table, meant for a group of three. He had hardly been there a minute when a waitress delivered a decadent chocolate sundae before him.

Thanking her, he dug in, his expression asking how she knew.

"I ordered your favorite for you." Noel revealed. "And I brought you this." She slid her had across the table, cupping something beneath it. When she lifted it, Drake was happily surprised to see that she had brought him a fortune cookie. "Go on. Tell me I'm the best." She grinned.

"You're the best." Drake broke the cookie free of its wrapper, then broke the fortune free of the cookie. "A lot will happen in your future." He read. "Wow. Descriptive."

"Oh my gosh, totally." Noel's voice took on the sound of that of a vapid teenager's as she played along. "Like, once, a fortune cookie told me I was going to, like, have another cookie, and then- I totally did."

"Whoa. Psychic powers much?" Blake joined in. He laughed, breaking character. "I love fortune cookies, but sometimes I think they cheap out on the actual fortunes."

"Did you guys get any good ones at dinner?" Drake asked, taking another bite of his sundae.

"Not until my third cookie." Blake replied. "'You can create your own happiness.' 'There is great love in your future.' 'Say yes to exciting opportunities.' I mean, I already got a record deal. What's more exciting than that?"

"True." Drake agreed.

"You switched them." Noel pointed out. "The opportunities one was the second one."

"Right." Blake nodded.

Noel turned to Drake. "Mine were okay. Nothing special." She dug them out of her pocket. Keeping them there was an old habit she'd had since childhood. She always liked to read them again a second time before she threw them away. "Um, let's see. 'You will meet a handsome stranger.'" She exchanged a look with her boyfriend. "Already happened, cookie. There's 'You will be hungry again in ten minutes.' A classic. And the other- the other reads, 'Ignore previous fortunes.' Nothing special, but definitely entertaining." Her salted caramel ice cream lost another two bites as she enjoyed it's strong flavor. Sprinkles slipped to the bottom of the dish as the ice cream began to melt. She hurriedly scooped them up with her spoon, enjoying their taste.

"Guess you really were hungry again in ten minutes." Blake teased her. "Look at you attacking those sprinkles. 'You can't run! You can't hide! Noel's gonna find you and EAT YOU." He smirked, chuckling. "Couldn't ignore that one, huh?"

She only rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. Just because you devoured your dessert in thirty seconds doesn't mean you can make fun of me and mine."

"The sprinkles need a fortune that reads, 'Watch out for girls with appetites."

Drake sat back in his chair, fully satisfied from the delicious bowl of ice cream and his own fortune cookie. "I think my fortune should have read, 'Get take out and run.'" He snickered. "You guys are hilarious."

Noel slipped her hand into Drake's. "Tonight was good. You both played really well. It was a show that will absolutely go down in history as one of the best shows that ever happened."

"You should have gotten on stage with me." Drake loved Noel's singing. He heard her once in a while, singing to herself in the shower. She was much too shy about it, and never dared sing in front of him or anyone else, but he loved her melodious voice and made sure she knew it. "You're talented. Very talented. We could duet together. Then you wouldn't be alone up there."

"Drake," she softly pushed his arm away. "You know I can't do that."

"Why not?" Blake leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table. "I bet you have a great voice. You guys would sound great together."

Noel seemed to weigh the decision for a moment, but ended up keeping her mindset. "No. No, it's not for me. Hey, how'd that stuff go? The stuff you had to take care of back at the hotel?" She turned to Drake, abruptly changing the subject to free herself from being the focus of the conversation.

Drake wished she hadn't brought it up. He had been having such a good time. Walter's disappearance had even faded from his mind. He answered, "It went okay. I made another video to boost the signal, get people looking for Walter. It'll help."

"Hey, I'll make one too!" Blake volunteered. "I've got a couple social media sites that would work to get the word out. I'd love to help."

"I'll make another." Noel promised. "Tonight. How's Josh? Have you talked to him?"

"He's hanging in there," Drake said. "Mindy's got it under control. Apparently her brain is useful for something more than just beating Josh in… everything."

"Okay!" Noel's excitement took Drake and Blake by surprise. "That's good! See? With so many people looking out for Walter, he'll be home before you know it."

"Yeah." Drake brightened. "Yeah, I think you're right."

X

As promised, Drake and Noel spent a couple days at Josh and Mindy's working on the search for Walter as soon as the tour wrapped. The weatherman was still mysteriously missing, but the search was getting stronger. Josh's ex-boss Helen, from his old job at the Premiere Movie Theater had given her time to help raise the alarm, as well as a couple of Drake's old high school class mates.

Even Beck and Jade took time to help a bit, though it was mostly Beck making Jade help, because it was 'the right thing to do.' She wasn't happy about it, but she was happy about her and Beck getting the house to themselves for another couple of days while Drake and Noel were out of town. Shark especially enjoyed it. He claimed Drake's bed as his own until the musician came back into town. Jade was only too happy to let her German Shepherd sleep there. If Shark was happy, Jade was happy.

Another long weekend passed with Beck and Jade curled up on the couch, relaxing with each other. Credits rolled as the horror movie they had just watched came to an end. Jade picked up the remote, searching for something else to watch.

"Want to watch Outrageous Cheerleading Accidents?"

"That's still on?" Beck arched a brow. "Nah. I was thinking maybe a comedy."

"It is a comedy. That show's hilarious." Jade gave him a look.

"No, it's not."

"Why not?"

"Because people get hurt."

"Stupid people. That's what makes it funny."

"Jade…"

She landed on the ScyFy channel. Dinosaurs bolted across the screen, chasing screaming humans.

"Here, Jurassic Park is on. Let's watch this." Beck decided as Jade rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I'm getting popcorn." She moved to the cabinet, pulling out a packet of microwave popcorn. As the kernels began to pop, she glanced out the window into the parking lot. A strange guy wearing a poncho meandered his way across the blacktop. Jade's eyes narrowed. The poncho man turned around. His eyes were crazy, wild with struggle and confusion, but Jade knew who it was instantly. "Beck!"

"What is it?"

"Walter!"

Beck jumped up to look in the direction Jade was pointing. She glanced at her boyfriend, then back down into the parking lot.

"Where is he? You sure it's him?" Beck asked.

"Yeah! He's right- Damn."

She had only turned her head for a moment. Yet, Walter was gone, without a trace, like he had never been there at all.

Jade shook her head, raising a finger to rub her temples. "Geez. I must be seeing things."

The microwave dinged, letting her know the popcorn was finished. She retrieved the bag, shaking it to help the butter cover each piece before she opened it. Disregarding a bowl, she followed Beck back to the couch, reclining next to him. "Drake's search has me going crazy."

"Aww, you really do care." Beck teased, reaching for the popcorn.

Jade sneered. "Uhm, no. I just really like mysterious, missing people."

"Come on." Beck scoffed as velociraptors made an appearance on screen. "You've been living with the guy for how long now? Maybe you don't hate him as much as you think you do, babe."

"Never say those words again."

"Hey. It's okay. It's a good thing. You don't have to hold your grudge anymore."

"I love grudges." Jade pouted, popping a handful of popcorn into her mouth. "They make things more interesting."

"All I'm saying is, maybe it's time to let go of this one. Drake's been gone for a while now. When he comes back, it might be a good time to start fresh."

"Noel will probably be living here full time, too." Jade remembered. "They've been staying together since a bit before the tour. I doubt she will go back to her own place. Maybe it's time you got a place off campus and we could live together."

Beck frowned, sadness making his dark eyes heavy. "You know how much I want to. I can't until I graduate. But! I get closer every day."

"I know," Jade said softly. "I just hate this distance. And it's been so good having you here almost all of the time. I really love you, you know."

"I love you, too." Beck murmured against her skin. "Someday. It'll be over before you know it."

Jade groaned. "Tell that to my suffering."

"You like suffering."

"You know me so well."